Objective: To assess environmental factors in the development and protection of Parkinson’s disease.

Background: The cause of Parkinson’s disease is not known, but in summarizing the studies, the hypothesis that Parkinson’s disease is multifactorial has been proven as a combination of environmental and hereditary factors [1,2,3]. Studies have confirmed the influence of environmental and occupational factors on Parkinson’s disease [4,5]. On the other hand, the effects of smoking and high consumption of oilseeds are considered as protective factors against this disease [4,6].

Method: In the present study, 100 patients with Parkinson’s were collected as a case group and 100 healthy individuals referred to the clinic of Shohada Hospital in Tajrish as a control group during 2019.The questionnaire, which was designed from several sections, was given to the study subjects to complete. Serum levels of iron, uric acid, folate, liver enzymes, cholesterol, vitamin D, calcium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, fasting blood sugar, homocysteine, thyroid test, B12, Hba1c, TIBC and blood insulin levels were checked for both groups. After completing the questionnaire, the data were collected and Analyzed by SPSS 24 software.

Results: The present study showed that Parkinson’s family history (PV = 0.016), diabetes (P =0.012), depression (PV=0.014), anxiety (PV = 0.045), Head trauma history (PV =0.030), clonazepam (PV= 0.027), propranolol (PV=0.009) and sertraline (PV=0.045) increase the chances of Parkinson’s disease. Also, the chances of developing Parkinson’s are reduced by consuming more Tomatoes (PV =0.023) and more Coffee (PV = 0.030). Among the quantitative risk factors, hair color, Ca, FBS, and T3 were significant at the 0.05 level.

Conclusion: The present study found that Parkinson’s family history, diabetes, depression, anxiety, head trauma, clonazepam , propranolol, and sertraline were the risk factors for Parkinson’s disease. It was also found that the consumption of Tomatoes and Coffee can be protective factors against Parkinson’s disease.

References: [1] Veldman BA, Wijn AM, Knoers N, Praamstra P, Horstink MW. Genetic and environmental risk factors in Parkinson’s disease. J Clin Neurosci. 1998; 100(1): 15-26.
[2] Zorzon M, Capus L, Pellegrino A, et al. Familial and environmental risk factors in Parkinson’s disease: a case-control study in north-east Italy. Acta Neurol Scand 2002; 105:77–82.
[3] Chen H, Ritz B. The Search for Environmental Causes of Parkinson’s disease: Moving Forward. Journal of Parkinson’s disease. 2018 Jan 1; 8(s1):S9-17.
[4] Fall PA, Fredrikson M, Axelson O, Granérus AK. Nutritional and occupational factors influencing the risk of Parkinson’s disease: a case‐control study in southeastern Sweden. Movement disorders: official journal of the Movement Disorder Society. 1999 Jan;14(1):28-37.
[5] Das K, Ghosh M, Nag C, Nandy SP, Banerjee M, Datta M, Devi G, Chatterjee G. Role of familial, environmental and occupational factors in the development of Parkinson’s disease. Neurodegenerative Diseases. 2011;8(5):345-51.
[6] Gallo V, Vineis P, Cancellieri M, Chiodini P, Barker RA, Brayne CE, Pearce N, Vermeulen R, Panico S, Bueno-de-Mesquita B, Vanacore N. Exploring causality of the association between smoking and Parkinson’s disease. International Journal of Epidemiology, 2018, 1–14.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/environmental-factors-and-parkinsons-disease/